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Method and apparatus for using ternary and binary content-addressable memory stages to classify packets

a technology of content-addressable memory and packet classification, applied in the field of communication and computer systems, can solve the problems of increasing power consumption of tcams, limited size, and costing more than conventional memory, and achieve the effect of increasing the difficulty of packet classification of received packets, reducing the number of packets, and increasing the difficulty of tcams

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-02-21
CISCO TECH INC
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  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

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Benefits of technology

[0006]Systems and methods are disclosed for using ternary and binary content-addressable memory stages to classify packets. One embodiment includes a ternary content-addressable memory to receive the set ...

Problems solved by technology

This packet classification of a received packet is increasingly becoming more difficult due to ever increasing packet rates and number of packet classifications.
However, TCAMs consume a lot of power, are of limited size and cost more than conventional memory.

Method used

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  • Method and apparatus for using ternary and binary content-addressable memory stages to classify packets

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Embodiment Construction

[0013]Methods and apparatus are disclosed using ternary and binary content-addressable memory stages to classify packets. Embodiments described herein include various elements and limitations, with no one element or limitation contemplated as being a critical element or limitation. Each of the claims individually recite an aspect of the invention in its entirety. Moreover, some embodiments described may include, but are not limited to, inter alia, systems, networks, integrated circuit chips, embedded processors, ASICs, methods, and computer-readable medium containing instructions. The embodiments described hereinafter embody various aspects and configurations within the scope and spirit of the invention.

[0014]As used herein, the term “packet” refers to packets of all types, including, but not limited to, fixed length cells and variable length packets, each of which may or may not be divisible into smaller packets or cells. Moreover, these packets may contain one or more types of inf...

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Abstract

Methods and apparatus are disclosed herein for classifying packets using ternary and binary content-addressable memory stages to classify packets. One such system uses a stage of one or more TCAMS followed by a second stage one or more CAMS (or alternatively some other binary associative memories such as hash tables or TRIEs) to classify a packet. One exemplary system includes TCAMs for handling input and output classification and a forwarding CAM to classify packets for Internet Protocol (IP) forwarding decisions on a flow label. This input and output classification may include, but is not limited to routing, access control lists (ACLs), quality of service (QoS), network address translation (NAT), encryption, etc. These IP forwarding decisions may include, but are not limited to IP source and destination addresses, protocol type, flags and layer 4 source and destination ports, a virtual local area network (VLAN) id and / or other fields.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to communications and computer systems, and in particular routers and packet switching systems; and more particularly, the invention relates to using ternary and binary content-addressable memory stages to classify packets.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The communications industry is rapidly changing to adjust to emerging technologies and ever increasing customer demand. This customer demand for new applications and increased performance of existing applications is driving communications network and system providers to employ networks and systems having greater speed and capacity (e.g., greater bandwidth). In trying to achieve these goals, a common approach taken by many communications providers is to use packet switching technology. Increasingly, public and private communications networks are being built and expanded using various packet technologies, such as Internet Protocol (IP).[0003]A network device, such as a switch or rout...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): H04L12/56
CPCG06F17/30949H04L45/7453H04L45/00G06F17/30955G06F16/902G06F16/9014Y10S707/99933
Inventor CHERITON, DAVID R.
Owner CISCO TECH INC
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